Towers, Gibson to discuss D-backs coaching staff

JACKMAGRUDER

FS Arizona

SAN DIEGO -- Kevin Towers and Kirk Gibson plan to meet Monday to evaluate player personnel and the coaching staff, the object being to make sure the two groups mesh.

Part of the discussion will involve "particular players we need to get to. Things we need to work on," Towers said.

"What are the strengths of our staff? What are the weaknesses of our staff? Do we have the right coaches to get the most out of those players or not? What you have to do is look at your product and make sure you have the right people leading that product and coaching that product to get the most out of them."

If coaching changes are made, Towers said they will happen quickly.

Hitting coach Don Baylor, bench coach Alan Trammell, third base/defense coach Matt Williams, pitching coach Charlie Nagy and bullpen coach Glenn Sherlock have been with manager Kirk Gibson since he was hired full-time in 2011. Sherlock has been with the team since its inaugural season in 1998. Gibson added first base/base running coach Steve Sax and assistant hitting coach Turner Ward last offseason.

All of the coaching contracts expire in October, Towers said.

As with trades, Towers is not afraid to make changes. He replaced friend and long-time third base coach Tim Flannery late in his tenure as general manager with the
Padres.

The D-backs' numbers have not changed much from the previous seasons. They have scored slightly fewer runs this year than in the past several seasons, but injuries have been a factor. The team ERA is about the same as it has been the previous two years. The defense is statistically the best in the league.

"They (coaches) have done well," Gibson said. "The reality of it is, our record is what it is. We can have a roundtable of why we are at where we are at. There is really no clear-cut single answer. I think it's fair to say no one group is the culprit of where we are. We wear it together.

"I think, as a whole, the team has been very focused. They've stuck together. It wasn't good enough. I take 100 percent accountability of what goes on. It is my responsibility to lead us."